14. Illinois (2-10): Fans of the Fighting Illini are in for the long haul. This rebuild might take a while. There are a few pieces of Lovie Smith’s 2018 recruiting class that should make an instant impact — but that’s not saying much, considering how bad Illinois was last year. Kirthmon F. Dozier DFP

13. Rutgers (4-8): There’s a chance the Scarlet Knights could be markedly improved in Chris Ash’s third season. There’s also a chance that won’t matter. Rutgers’ schedule is brutal, with games against Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan and crossover matchups against Wisconsin and Northwestern, the Big Ten West’s top two teams from last year. Abby Drey, TNS

12. Indiana (5-7): In Peyton Ramsey and Morgan Ellison, the Hoosiers have a young quarterback and running back who played a lot as freshmen. Those two figure to be building blocks for the program. This was also a junior-laden team last year. Indiana will need its blend of underclassmen and upperclassmen to improve quickly if it wants to compete in the Big Ten East. Abby Drey, TNS

11. Minnesota (5-7): Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and Minnesota only has one scholarship quarterback on its roster after Demry Croft and Victor Viramontes both transferred. P.J. Fleck may need some injury luck to go his way this fall. Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

10. Purdue (7-6): This is a step down from where the Boilermakers ended last year. After all, they finished with a winning record. But it’s more of a sign of the improvements that a couple other teams should make, and not an indictment of Jeff Brohm and Purdue. Brohm can coach, and his team should be fun to watch again this year. Elizabeth Flores, TNS

9. Maryland (4-8): The Terps got hit hard by the injury bug last year. At one point, their top three quarterbacks were injured. In the first three weeks, Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill both tore their ACLs. Maryland will have to hope both can return to full strength; there’s enough pieces on the offense for this to be a dangerous team. The Terps just have to stay healthy. Abby Drey, TNS

8. Nebraska (4-8): This may seem high for those who saw the dumpster fire in Lincoln last fall. But hey, school hero Scott Frost knows what to do with a dumpster fire. He took Central Florida from 0-12 to 13-0 in just two years. He’s back at his alma mater now, and has already made an impact on the recruiting trail. The Cornhuskers could make noise as early as this season. Stephen M. Dowell, TNS

7. Iowa (8-5): It seems like you can always count on Kirk Ferentz to lead the Hawkeyes to seven or eight wins each year. They’re the paradigm of consistency. Iowa’s schedule is set up well this year — it avoids both Ohio State and Michigan. But then again, that might not even matter — Ferentz led the Hawkeyes to a win over both in the past two seasons. Darron Cummings, ASSOCIATED PRESS

6. Northwestern (10-3): The Wildcats finished the season on a tear, ripping off eight consecutive wins after a 2-3 start. That’s an impressive coaching job from Pat Fitzgerald. Now, he’ll need to find a quarterback while Clayton Thorson recovers from a torn ACL suffered in the team’s bowl game. John J. Kim, TNS

5. Michigan (8-5): The Wolverines have a stacked defense and some talented young playmakers on offense. Jim Harbaugh still has to find his quarterback — and then keep him upright and uninjured. He might have accomplished the former by bringing in Shea Patterson. It remains to be seen whether the latter can be accomplished, though the right things have been said about new offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

4. Michigan State (10-3): Last year was quite the bounce back for the Spartans, who had gone 3-9 the year prior. It shows you can never count Mark Dantonio out. Now, he’s got an experienced team that won big games over Michigan and Penn State last year. Can Michigan State take the next step forward and win the conference? Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

3. Penn State (11-2): The Nittany Lions lost their offensive coordinator, leading rusher, leading receiver and top tight end. But James Franklin has recruited well the past couple years. Former five-star Miles Sanders is ready to replace Saquon Barkley, and quarterback Trace McSorley is coming off a year in which he threw for 3,228 yards and 26 touchdowns. There’s a chance Penn State doesn’t see much drop-off from last season. Abby Drey, TNS

2. Wisconsin (13-1): The Badgers have one of the nation’s best offensive lines and one of the nation’s most talented running backs in Jonathan Taylor. And really, what more do you need in Madison? Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

1. Ohio State (12-2): At this point, Ohio State doesn’t rebuild. It simply reloads. The Buckeyes should have a fierce defensive line, led by Nick Bosa, and another top-notch secondary full of former top recruits. The offense will be led by Dwayne Haskins, who led Ohio State to a road win over Michigan while filling in for injured former starter J.T. Barrett. Haskins doesn’t have a lot of credentials, but that one certainly stands out. Adam Cairns, TNS

Count Jim Harbaugh among the fans of college football's new redshirt rule.

Speaking on the latest edition of his podcast, "Attack Each Day," the Michigan head coach called the new redshirt policy — announced in mid June — “a good rule.”

“That’s really player friendly, student-athlete friendly,” Harbaugh said. “The rule had been that you could play in four games and still be redshirted, but they had to be within four of the first six games and there had to be an injury (as to) why you didn’t play in the remaining games. And if you played one play after the sixth game, then you would lose that redshirt opportunity.

“Now, those four games can come at any time in the season, and I’m pretty sure that you don’t have to have a reason why you didn’t play in a fifth or a sixth game. So yeah, four games, allows them to get their feet wet and also be able to save that year of eligibility for a fifth year.”

The NCAA's previous medical redshirt rule mandated that players who participated in either four games or 30 percent of a season’s games could qualify for a redshirt if they were injured. That injury also had to take place in the first half of the season.

Last fall, freshman receiver Tarik Black became eligible for a medical redshirt when he suffered a season-ending foot injury in Michigan’s fourth game of the year.

“(Black) was able to redshirt because he played four games,” Harbaugh said. “If he would’ve come back and played in the bowl game, he would’ve lost that year.”

Now, football players can play in up to four games at any point in a season and still take a redshirt. There’s no restriction on those four games. And as far as Harbaugh is concerned, there are no negatives with the new rule.

“It’s good because I think there’s something in human nature when a youngster’s told that he’s redshirting, that he’ll take a little bit something off the pedal,” Harbaugh said. “... They could be ready for the end of the season, provide depth.

"Also, here’s the latest twist with some of the players not participating in bowl games because they don’t want to get hurt and lower their draft stock. Now you have some of those younger players that are ready now by the end of their freshman year and can step in and get experience for the following season. So I think it’s a good thing for all concerned.”